Star Wars fans are currently witnessing a much different version of Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and while the change was a bit controversial at first, some new data about the galaxy far, far away completely justified it. Galaxy's Edge has been one of Disney's most popular theme park lands in Walt Disney World and Disneyland since they opened. Many fans have been pleased with Galaxy's Edge as a whole, especially when it comes to the main attraction, Rise of the Resistance, but Disney recently decided to make a crucial change to the land in California.
Galaxy's Edge has always been deemed a place within the timeline of the sequel trilogy. For example, the attractions in the land have always included sequel trilogy characters and storylines, and characters from those movies have always roamed around the park. However, Disney recently announced that it was going to break the restrictions on the timeline in Disneyland and make Galaxy's Edge not have to fit within the sequel trilogy timeline.
Specifically, Disneyland removed some of the sequel characters from Galaxy's Edge, moved some to other sections of the land, and added in a lot of the most iconic original trilogy characters, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. The park also added new missions to the Smuggler's Run attraction. Now, the mission can feature Din Djarin and Grogu, meaning the attraction isn't solely based in the sequel era.
When this change was first announced, many sequel fans were rather upset. Despite those movies being polarizing for the Star Wars fandom, it can't be disputed that they were highly successful financially. Each of them crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, and The Force Awakens is still the highest-grossing movie domestically of all time.
So, many sequel fans stated that it was unfair that Disneyland took a lot of the focus off the sequel trilogy in Galaxy's Edge, especially since the land was always marketed as taking place during the sequel trilogy. Initially, Disney did this because it wanted fans to actually be a part of Star Wars canon, and if the land didn't have to fit within timeline constraints, there was no way it could be canon.
However, new Disney+ data entirely supports this change, and, even though it may be a bit surprising, it makes perfect sense now that Disneyland decided to alter Galaxy's Edge in terms of where it falls on the timeline.
Disney Changed Galaxy's Edge Because Star Wars Fans Don't Care About the Sequel Trilogy
Variety recently shared a report from Nielsen regarding Star Wars' streaming numbers in 2025. In total, the Star Wars franchise was viewed for 33 billion minutes on the Disney+ streaming platform and on linear TV last year, proving that the galaxy far, far away is still one of the most popular universes in fiction history.
However, the most notable part of that report was the streaming numbers for May 4, 2025. That was Star Wars Day, and the franchise as a whole was watched more on that day than on any other day of the year. The report broke down the list of the top 10 most-watched Star Wars projects on that day, and there was an extremely obvious trend on the list.
Of the top 10 most-watched Star Wars titles on May 4, 2025, not a single one of them was from the sequel trilogy. All six films from George Lucas made the list, as well as a few TV shows, but not one movie from the sequel trilogy or the Resistance show was in the ranks.
In terms of movies, A New Hope was viewed the most, followed by The Phantom Menace. Then, The Empire Strikes Back, Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones, and Return of the Jedi all came back-to-back. The outright most-viewed project was Andor, which isn't surprising considering the second season was in the midst of airing, but it is likely safe to say that if that wasn't the case, the original six Star Wars movies would have taken up the top six spots.
Therefore, the fact that none of the sequel movies were even in the top 10 proves that fans don't really care about them, so Disney likely asked itself why it would bother continuing to build out a land in that era when there is a lot more interest in the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy.
Now, Disney likely started making plans to change Galaxy's Edge long before May 2025, but those streaming numbers from last year only give the fans an opportunity to see exactly why Disney made the decision it did.
The sequel characters weren't moved out because of toxic fans, or because Disney wanted to erase the sequel trilogy. It simply comes down to fan interest, and there isn't any in the sequel trilogy, so there is no reason to solely keep a land set in that era when it could easily be altered.
In a way, Galaxy's Edge is now closer to what many fans always wanted it to be. Most hoped that Galaxy's Edge would be a land not restricted by time periods, where different characters, Easter eggs, and storylines from all eras could coexist. Now that Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland is home to both original trilogy characters and sequel trilogy characters, those barriers are finally coming down, and the land as a whole is seemingly more appealing to fans.
If the sequel trilogy had performed well on Disney+ in terms of streaming numbers over the past few years, Galaxy's Edge likely would have remained untouched. However, that recently released report simply proves that fans want to see more from the original six movies, so Disney changed Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland to give fans just that.
For reference, below is the full top 10 list of the most-streamed Star Wars projects on May 4, 2025:
- Andor
- A New Hope
- The Phantom Menace
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Revenge of the Sith
- Attack of the Clones
- Return of the Jedi
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Tales of the Underworld
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Will Disney World's Galaxy's Edge Mirror Disneyland's?
Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge already implemented the timeline changes mentioned above, and so far, fans have seemingly been pleased with those changes. However, now many are wondering if Disney World will follow suit and make those same changes.
When it was first announced that Galaxy's Edge would change its timeline placement, it was only announced that it would be happening at Disneyland, and there was no mention at all of Disney World.
If attendance in Disneyland goes up and Galaxy's Edge gets even more popular, it is entirely possible and probably even likely that Disney World's Galaxy's Edge will receive the exact same treatment that Disneyland did. A lot of attractions and lands at one park are almost identical to those at the other park, so it would not be surprising if Disney World's Galaxy's Edge added characters like Han, Leia, and Luke.
However, it also feels like it could be more beneficial to Disney if one park's Galaxy's Edge has original trilogy characters and elements while the other only has content from the sequels. In addition, it might be most effective if Disneyland completely changes over to an original trilogy land, and Disney World remains a sequel land. Of course, that would leave the prequels out, as there are only two Galaxy's Edge lands in the Disney parks.
However, if each Galaxy's Edge had different content, it would give fans a reason to visit different Disney parks, so that they could experience all of the Star Wars elements Disney has to offer.
It is unclear what decision Disney will make for Disney World's Galaxy's Edge, but considering the streaming numbers for Star Wars on Disney+ and how fans have been pleased with the changes made to Disneyland, it seems likely that Disney World will also change its Galaxy's Edge sometime in the near future.
